Hispanics, Bush, and Sisyphus
I am most sympathetic to George and Jeb Bush when I listen to them on immigration, particularly when dealing with Hispanics. They both have personal reasons for being sensitive on this issue. Joey Sobrino and I have some of the same reasons and have been carrying on a conversation on Joey's blog about the impact of the Hispanic vote in the last election. Some of the points we were discussing are discussed in a Washington Post article today. Here are some of its key findings.
Pollsters generally agree that the same voters abandoned the president's party in droves during last week's elections, with Latinos giving the GOP only 30 percent of their vote as strident House immigration legislation inspired by Republicans and tough-talking campaign ads by conservative candidates roiled the community. It was a 10-point drop from the lowest estimated Latino vote percentage two years ago, and a 14-point drop from the highest.
Depending on who did the counting, pollsters said in 2004 that Latinos handed GOP candidates between 40 percent and 44 percent of their vote -- a historic Republican windfall -- as the Bush brothers appealed to their socially conservative views on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Keep in mind that a large percentage of that 30% who remained loyal are Cuban-Americans who have been solidly Republican for some time.
But the Repubs have a plan to regain this loss! And his name is Mel Martinez, a Cuban-American from Florida who happens to be, uh, out of work and at loose ends. He has just been named to head the Republican National Committee. Repubs think this will show how Hispanic friendly they are.
"Martinez would give the party tremendous legitimacy among the growing Hispanic voter base," said Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.). "He's an absolute rock star in the Hispanic community."
Of course, to believe this you have to believe there actually is such a thing as an 'Hispanic community' in this country. To do this you have to believe that a Mexican and a Cuban share exactly the same culture. Judging from life here in Lykesboro, this is simply not true.
But, my favorite Repub response to these statistics is this one by Rosemary Jenks of Numbers USA, which opposes increased immigration:
"The election had absolutely nothing to do with immigration," she said. "It was about George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. I think the public has made it very clear where they stand on immigration."
posted by Clemens @ 12:46 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
The sole uniform linkage between Hispanic nationalities is language. Brazilians usually get lumped in also.
Despite the differences between Hispanic cultures there is a cliquish dynamic that crosses borders. I hate when Hispanics change their attitude with me when they learn I am "Cuban". I, politely, tell them, no, I am not, I am American.
Naming Mel Martinez as the head of the RNC defeats the purpose of putting a Hispanic in charge. He is white and Cuban, both of which are not targeting the fastest growing Hispanic factions.
Hopefully, most Hispanics will stop thinking of themselves as Hispanic in another generation.
-Joey
As an Aussie, it just seems insane to me that to be regarded as pro-immigration in the US mainstream, you must support massive illegal immigration.
Here we have a high migration rate, we all consider ourselves 'multicultural' (in the generally accepted meaning of the word, not that leftist-doublespeak code most of us are unaware of) and we cheerfully accept a lot of refugees -- same as the USA on all 3 counts.
But with a tiny exception Australians are outraged by people who try to come here illegally. A few people manage to get in, despite very strict border security. They break the rules and they clog up the courts, and they get no sympathy from anyone.
In fact, in the long term, you can *only* run a high level of immigration if you strictly enforce the rules. The alternative is an ugly backlash, the like of which both our societies have seen before, to our regret.
And believe it or not 'Border Security' -- a 'COPS' style TV program -- is a top rating prime time TV show over here. Mild mannered airport clerks turn away ne'er-do-wells from every corner of the globe. People love it!
Problem is, historically our border is a bit more complicated than the Australian one. In fact, it's never been much of a border, either for immigrants (going both ways, legal and illegal - in fact the whole concept of 'illegal' is relatively new) or armies (usually ours). It has left large pockets of Ladinos, Chicanos, and just plain Mexicans, on both sides of the border.
Now we have to figure out how we want to handle it, and it is complicated by political and economic factors. Here in Lykesboro, an otherwise benighted place, you rarely hear anti-immigrant talk because everyone understands that no Hispanics, no Chicken Factory, and no Chicken Factory (courtesy of Tysons, a politically well connected firm) no jobs at the banks, supermarkets, gas stations, etc. This gets involved in who is 'illegal' and what it means when you go after them.
In other words, its a political problem, not necesarily legal, geographic, or even racial (though I think the racial factor is a big one).
Truth is, to get into the US legally is just too darn hard. I know from Aussies who have tried to get temporary work or study visas and green cards, the bureaucracy is intense.
Over here, getting a work visa, with the sponsorship of an established business, is pretty easy. And passing the points test for residency is also not impossibly difficult. If you are young, educated English speaking, with a bit of work experience (as little as 6 months in the right industry), with demonstrable connection to Australia (having studied here will do it), and of course without a criminal record, you're a shoo in.
Having large numbers of high quality migrants makes everyone so much more accepting of temporary work visa schemes a such for less well educated workers.
Or maybe you need what we have with New Zealand. Travel between our countries is unrestricted. Respective passport holders come and go as we please, except for those with serious criminal records or certain illnesses.
Kiwis are even able to claim benefits here - although I believe the Kiwi Gov't pays Australia back periodically.
The imortant thing is that it's all policed -- no criminals or terrorists.
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